DA'WAH IS A GRADUAL EFFORT

 

By

Ibn Abdillah As-sudaisiy Al-Iloori

(First published on the 30th September, 2020)

Tonight, while I was explaining taoheed to my grandmother, I was forced to play one of the videos of Baba Oniwasi Agbaye رحمه الله where he preached against soothsaying in whatever way. Baba said there is nothing a Muslim needs more than du'a. The soothsayers are not seeing anything. They are liars. Don't take instructions from any Alfa to go and do one sadaqah or the other. This can lead to shirk. Sadaqah is an act of ibādah and it is only Allāh and His Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم who are qualified to prescribe acts of worship. Allāh says:

(أَمۡ لَهُمۡ شُرَكَـٰۤؤُا۟ شَرَعُوا۟ لَهُم مِّنَ ٱلدِّینِ مَا لَمۡ یَأۡذَنۢ بِهِ ٱللَّهُۚ وَلَوۡلَا كَلِمَةُ ٱلۡفَصۡلِ لَقُضِیَ بَیۡنَهُمۡۗ وَإِنَّ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِینَ لَهُمۡ عَذَابٌ أَلِیمࣱ)

Or have they other deities who have ordained for them a religion to which Allah has not consented? But if not for the decisive word, it would have been concluded between them. And indeed, the wrongdoers will have a painful punishment. [Surah Ash-Shura 21]

After watching the video, my grandma said: ha! This means the discussion was strange to her. Many of our parents and grand parents don't understand the foundations of Islām (taoheed and Sunnah). I think the first thing we should focus on in our da'wah these days is how to get many of our people to know how to identify bid'ah, especially the glorified shirk acts championed by many "Alfas" in our society and abstain from them, because dying with taoheed is not negotiable. This doesn't mean we should abandon the da'wah against other bid'ah of lesser degree ooo, but we need this more for now and we must try to be practical and tactical in our approach. We need house to house enlightenment on taoheed. We need to meet our old men and women one on one and get them to know the foundations of Islām. 

When any halqah or public lecture is organized in your area, how many of these set of people do you find there? The emotional attitude of many of us towards this da'wah does not give those who need our da'wah most the chance to move close to us to learn the truth. Whenever you organize a public lecture and you don't see new faces, please check your manner of approach. 

If we organize lectures and the same set of people are the ones always attending and there is no improvement in the composition of our audience, we need to examine our ways and re-strategise. If we can't find someone to bring into our lecture rooms some of these boys with horrible looks by their appearances, then we are not progressing. If sisters without hijab or even scarves cannot enter our gatherings freely to learn Islām, without our sisters looking down on them, we still have a long way to go. Let us prioritize our mission and spread this Sunnah with mercy and hope for the ignorant people. Our smiles and good conducts can play a major role in wooing ignorant Muslims towards the blessed path of Sunnah.

At the conclusion of my discussion with grandma this night, which she listened to very attentively. I told her some glaring truth that she admitted. At a point she said some of what you are saying affect me. I said there is no problem, repentance is the most important thing. In one of submissions, I said many of you, our parents know deep down your minds that you lack adequate Islamic knowledge. That is why you have sent us to go and learn it so that the ignorance in our lineage will not be continuous. She said: yes.! At this juncture, let me submit that if you are ignorant and you are still breeding ignorant children, this is destructive. The knowledge of Islām is a must for every Muslim (man or woman, old or young). This is documented in a very popular hadith that we all know. But if you happen to be ignorant and you lack the capacity to pick up, don't ever make the mistake of passing the ignorance to your subsequent generations. It will be disastrous.

When we started learning and along the line came across the Sunnah, a lot of things became clear to us. We detected a lot of virus that were hitherto hidden to us. We discovered that many of the old ways of practising Islām that we met on ground contain a lot of errors and we have to embark on reforms, so that our efforts in life will not become futile. Many acts of worship have been mixed with bid'ah and shirk. Many people don't know. No one will know except someone who understands taoheed and Sunnah. Some of those who know the truth are not ready to say it. They are benefitting from the ignorance of many Muslims. They turned the religion into a money making venture. As if this is not enough. They drive many Muslims to commit acts of bid'ah and shirk related activities through the concept of jalabi.

This is the state of affairs in our society. Up till now many people don't know their right from the left when it comes to their religion. They follow the so called "Alfas" blindly. Many of our parents reject our admonitions and follow the tricks of people of innovation. I asked my grandma, between us (their children) and those "Alfas", who love them most? she said: us. I said can those Alfas love them than the way we do? She said: no. I said why is it now difficult for our parents to obey us when we tell them the truth about the right path of Islām to follow? I said many of the Alfas people are following are only deceiving them. I said this is the only time we can talk to ourselves. I said may we not get to the grave before the truth becomes clear to us. By Allāh, our households are our priorities. Let us take care of them. Allāh says:

(یَـٰۤأَیُّهَا ٱلَّذِینَ ءَامَنُوا۟ قُوۤا۟ أَنفُسَكُمۡ وَأَهۡلِیكُمۡ نَارࣰا وَقُودُهَا ٱلنَّاسُ وَٱلۡحِجَارَةُ عَلَیۡهَا مَلَـٰۤىِٕكَةٌ غِلَاظࣱ شِدَادࣱ لَّا یَعۡصُونَ ٱللَّهَ مَاۤ أَمَرَهُمۡ وَیَفۡعَلُونَ مَا یُؤۡمَرُونَ)

O you who have believed, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones, over which are [appointed] angels, harsh and severe; they do not disobey Allah in what He commands them but do what they are commanded. [Surah At-Tahrim 6]